You can draw a Dimension Line on a plan to indicate distance between two objects.
Dimension Lines are also used to verify that the Page Scale is correct (previous article). Locate a known length (labeled) line on your plan and measure it. It’s best if you verify a horizontal and a vertical line.
The Dimension Tool is found in the Measure section of the Home Tab Ribbon Bar.
Draw a Dimension Line
To draw a new Dimension Line,
- Click the Dimension button
- Select the starting point by left clicking your mouse
- Move to the end point and left click again
You can draw additional Dimension Lines with the same properties.
- When you are done, press the Digitizer Record button or Ctrl-C to stop the dimension system
- You can customize the line color and text color of your dimensions:
- Name - Allows you to name the dimension to something more fitting.
- Color - Selects the color of the dimension line. Clicking on the colored area will bring up a color palate option box.
- Text Color - Selects the color of the dimension text.
- Font Name - Allows you to change the font style for the text.
- Text Height - Allows you to change the size of font used on the dimension line. In 9.3 and above this also controls the size of the Dimensions ticks (arrows).
- Arrowheads - You can select this option to add ticks (arrow heads) to the end of your dimension lines.
- Precision - You can set your dimensions precision to the nearest 1" (1), 1/2" (2), 1/4" (4), 1/8" (8) or 1/16" (16). **Applies to imperial (standard) measurements only.
Adjust these properties on the Settings Tab, under Annotations, see Related Articles for more information.
If you have Ortho enabled and need to place a dimension on an angle off of one of the cardinal coordinates, you can either turn off Ortho or hold the SHIFT key while placing the dimension line.
Delete a Dimension Line
To remove a dimension,
- Select the desired dimension by clicking with the cursor
- Press Delete on your keyboard
 Setting, Calculating, and Verifying Page Scale | Specifying the Length of a Dimension Line  |
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